Questions about post first cycle

Pharma
1

Hi all,

looking to start first cycle. 27M, been training 11 years. Just finished a cut and want to put on some good mass with minimal body fat. I have a few questions

  1. after PCT, how long does it usually take you guys to feel back to normal? I know it’s different for everyone, just want estimates

  2. how bad is the low T post cycle phase? What symptoms do you have, What to expect and how to deal with it?

  3. how much muscle (%) can I expect to retain after this cycle long term?

Thanks all,

2

1-I would say 5-7 weeks after last injection but this is all subjective as we are all different. The 2 times I did PCT prior to being on TRT I felt fine after coming off.
2-Again, hard to say. Some guys feel like shit some guys are fine. A strong PCT will help you come back online faster.
3-Nobody can tell you this. All depends on diet and training. If your not willing to out on bodyfat then in 12 weeks you may put on a couple lbs of muscle. If you are more aggressive with food could be 5-6lbs. You also need to understand that when you PCT you are gonna lose some of what you gained. You are renting muscle. Your also taking the risk that your natural test does not come back to where it was pre cycle.

These are all just general comments based on the little bit of info you have given. If you really want to maximize a first cycle I would get a training log going so we can see what you are currently doing and fix whatever needs to change prior to doing any drugs.
Can you post a pic of what the last 11 years of training has done for your physique?

3
  1. 2 months
  2. For me it sucked. Deflated, emotional, losing gains
  3. 25-40%
4

You know much more about cycling AAS than I knew when I started cycling AAS. I started taking AAS in 1971 (22years old). I didn’t know enough to even ask the three questions you asked. I knew no one who used, apart a friend in college who took some Winstrol in high school. And when I started he lived in Pittsburg and I lived in Florida. I never conversed with him about AAS. I never had any expectations about AAS except that they help you get stronger and bigger. I knew of no consequences, so I had no mental suggestions of hurdles to be dealt with. So, to your questions:

  1. I didn’t know about PCT until about 1980. I didn’t experience an abnormal feeling at any time while cycling AAS, except I would get weaker every time I cycled off AAS. It was a mental challenge to dealing with losing strength, but it immediately came back, and came back faster, when I started another cycle.
  2. I never took any blood tests for testosterone the entire three decades I cycled AAS. If I got low T, I never felt it.
  3. My experience is that I started the next cycle stronger than I had started the previous cycle. I approached cycling AAS as an incremental progress improvement process. The closest “long term” muscle retention I experienced was just before I turned 40, and qualified to compete in the Masters Nationals, I thought I would see what I could do in a drug tested bodybuilding contest. To qualify you had to have taken no AAS for a full year before the contest. I did two tested shows and won the HW class in the Over-35 in both shows. I lost the most muscle mass in my delts and traps, and it was noticeable. But it all came roaring back as soon as I re-started AAS
1 Like
5

Thanks everyone. Super helpful info.
Posted some reference images of my current physique. Weighing about 170 now.

I know the notion of “no one ever does one cycle” and I understand it. But I am hoping to only do this one for the time being until the future when I have children etc, just to minimize fertility risk. So talking about only doing this one for the next 4-5 ish years. Wishful thinking maybe but that’s the goal.

My plan was to do a 500 test e cycle x 16w with hcg. And then pct. The most important thing to me is to put on mass and maintain as much as I can of it post cycle. I also want to minimize the risk of ruining my own natural T production, again because I don’t want to get on trt yet and want kids in the future.

I know this is basically what everyone wants though lol.

Don’t want to mess with dht compounds (hair).

Thanks

IMG_9465
IMG_94651242×2208 236 KB

6

Training log wise, lift usually 5-6x a week. PPL split, hit abs EOD

Compound lifts, 3 working sets each
Bench 235x7
Squat 275x8
Pull ups 55lbs weighted x7-8
Dips 45 lbs weighted x12

7

Hair loss is much more genetic than any use of DHT AAS. I have a full head of hair just like dad had, and I am 77 years old. His hair thinned as he aged. Mine has too.

8

don’t think I’m as lucky in the hair genetics lottery unfortunately lol

9

DHT AAS would just shorten the time before hair loss.

10

My advice for a person built like you are naturally and don’t want to run a long period on AAS to see how massive you can get is to not tease yourself using AAS at all. I believe you could be a very good responder to AAS. If you dabble with the devil, he might end up owning you.

1 Like
11

You won’t. You’ll lose most of it within 6 months. Cycling with PCT is rented muscle. Two ways to keep it are to continuously cycle like @RT_Nomad did back in the day or two use a high TRT dose to maintain. PCT is two months of catabolic state followed by a long drawn out hormone balancing act where the remainder of your new “gains” evaporate more slowly.

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Thanks guys. I appreciate the intel and your experiences with AAS. Ultimately was hoping to get different opinions and perspectives to help me get a better answer to my questions (even though I know there won’t be a uniform right answer). So even if the opinion is “don’t start yet” I appreciate that. Just wanted to pick the brains of people more experienced and learn more to help answer my questions